EU-registered aircraft: 147 deaths in the EU in 2022

In 2022, 147 people died in aviation accidents on EU territory involving aircraft registered in the EU countries, 26 more people than in 2021.

This information comes from data on air transport safety published by Eurostat today. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article.

Source datasets: tran_sf_aviaca, tran_sf_aviaaw, tran_sf_aviagah, tran_sf_aviagal

As in previous years, most of the air accident fatalities in 2022 (83% or 112 deaths) involved aircraft with a maximum take-off mass (MTOM) of less than 2 250 kg in the ‘general aviation’ category. This subcategory comprises small aeroplanes, dirigibles, para- and motor-gliders, ‘microlights’, small helicopters, as well as hot air balloons. Only one person died in general aviation accidents involving EU-registered aircraft with an MTOM above 2 250 kg.

In 2022, commercial air transport registered the second-highest number of fatalities: 17 (12% of the total), followed by aerial work with 7 deaths (5%).

In the period 2012-2022, no major accidents were recorded in commercial air transport in the EU involving EU-registered aircraft. The exception was the year 2015, when 150 fatalities were recorded in the crash of a Germanwings aircraft in the French Alps.

7 September 2023